Thursday, December 12, 2013

Housing developers urged to use Solar Thin-Film PV technology

You read the Bernama report below and you quickly think of the additional cost it will cause to the price of your dream house, which would be hefty.

For a conventional solar PV installed on rooftop, 1kWp would cost around RM9,000 to RM10,000 without storage/battery. So, for an average size of 4kWp, a house buyer would have to pay an additional sum of RM40,000 which is about 15% of the price of a medium-cost house. For thin-film PV, there is no price reference yet in Malaysia.

Housing developers will hesitate. House buyers will be reluctant.

If SIRIM (and that would mean, the government) wants housing developers to incorporate solar PV technology in their construction, they need to give these developers carrot.

I don't know what that carrot would be, but both developer and buyer need to be convinced of the quantum of benefit of having solar PV built-in into their buildings.

Sirim Bhd is proposing that housing developers use Solar Thin-Film Photovoltaics (PV) technology in their construction to further develop the use of green technology and add value to new buildings.

Solar Thin-Film PV is the state-of-the-art renewable energy technology which uses thin layers of semiconductors to absorb solar energy which can be transformed into electricity.

Renewable Energy Research Centre General Manager Mohd Fauzi Ismail said besides encouraging developers to be more competitive, house owners would also be able to enjoy cost savings in electricity consumption.

"The use of this technology can have a far reaching impact on the buildings as indirectly the building structure will have a dual-function.

"Solar Thin-Film PV not only can be used for roofing, walls and ceilings, but also as a source of power generation," he told Bernama after the launch of the Application of Wind Technology System for Energy Generation and Sustainable Thin Film PV Building and, the Renewable Energy Generation projects in Kudat on Sunday (Dec 8).

Solar Thin-Film PV technology had many advantages compared with other technologies as it required only low raw material input, was highly automated and efficiently produced.

The technology can be easily integrated with buildings, had a high performance level and as less sensitive under high temperatures, he added.

He said Sirim was ready to share its expertise with any housing developer who wished to apply the renewable energy in their construction.

Extracted from: Bernama, Dec 8, 2013TheGreenMechanics: A demo house/building with solar thin-film PV installed on its rooftop would be very interesting. Where can I see one?